DOJ Seizes Deepfake Porn Domains in International Takedown
The article reports on a major international law enforcement operation in which U.S. authorities seized the domains CFAKE.com and SOCFAKE.com, two websites dedicated to publishing AI generated nonconsensual nude images and videos of women. The operation was led by Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Department of Justice, with support from authorities in France and Italy.
According to prosecutors, the websites hosted hundreds of thousands of deepfake images depicting politicians, royalty, journalists, television presenters, athletes, entertainers and other public figures in sexually explicit situations without their consent. Users could browse content using categories such as “rape,” “forced,” and “degradation,” demonstrating the abusive nature of the platforms.
The seizures represent the first major use of the TAKE IT DOWN Act, enacted in 2025, which criminalizes the publication of nonconsensual AI generated sexually explicit images of identifiable individuals. Federal judges in New Jersey authorized the domain seizures after finding probable cause that the websites were violating the new law.
The investigation began after Italy’s Postal and Cybersecurity Police alerted U.S. authorities to the websites. Evidence gathered by U.S. investigators was shared with French authorities through the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime, leading to a parallel investigation and the arrest of a suspect in Nice, France, along with cryptocurrency seizures. The case highlights the importance of international cooperation in combating AI enabled cybercrime.
U.S. officials described the operation as a significant victory for victims of deepfake abuse, emphasizing that the harm caused by nonconsensual synthetic images is both personal and long lasting. Authorities stated that the case demonstrates their willingness to target not only offenders but also the infrastructure supporting illegal AI content distribution.
Experts note that the operation establishes an important legal precedent for future enforcement against deepfake pornography websites. While removing the domains disrupts access to the content, continued enforcement will be necessary as similar services may attempt to reappear under new domains or alternative infrastructure.
